A Time For Love
by edencole88
Summary: Takes place after the finale and is basically a collection of short stories showing important moments in Damon and Elena's life. Namely Elena waking up, a proposal, a wedding, kids and a couple of little in between moments.
1. DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME

**DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME**

 _Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on what we're waiting for._

Damon sat down on the steps of the Mausoleum, taking another swill from the bottle of bourbon in his hand.

This wasn't the first time he had found himself here and it likely wouldn't be the last. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the door, letting her into his thoughts.

She stood in a sun filled kitchen staring out into the back yard. Her hair hung in loose waves, reaching her waist and the summer dress she wore showed off her sun kissed arms and legs. For a moment, he stood there mesmerized.

She realized he was there then, turning towards him with a smile as bright as a thousand suns. "You're here," she said with joyful surprise.

Damon walked towards the love of his life, his smile matching hers and pulled her into his arms for a kiss. As they parted, he gently brushed a stray piece of hair from her face.

"You're not supposed to be here," Elena gently scolded.

Damon chose to ignore her words and distract her from that line of thought instead. "What's this?" he asked, gesturing towards her swollen belly.

Elena laughed, embarrassed. "I was dreaming of what it's going to be like when, ummm..."

"When you have our baby," Damon finished for her.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" she asked him. "Are you freaking out?"

Damon laughed. "Strangely enough, I think its kind of nice." He glanced around the room. "But where exactly are we?"

"My old house," Elena replied, looking around. "Well except not. This is what I imagine my house would look like if we rebuilt it. She turned back towards him. "Now back to my original point. You're not supposed to be here."

Damon sighed. Arguing was not how he wanted to spend this time with her. "I'm visiting. There's nothing wrong with that."

"It is if you're shutting down and not actually living your life, " Elena responded. Damon, I'm stuck here dreaming but you shouldn't have to live in a dream with me."

"Says the girl who basically took drugs so she could hallucinate me," Damon countered.

Elena was beginning to get frustrated. "Exactly. It was a hallucination, it wasn't real. I want more for you than this Damon. I don't want you to squander the precious extra time you have with Stefan."

"I miss you."

The sadness in his voice broke her heart. "I know Damon, believe me." She reached out to place a hand on his cheek and he placed a kiss on her palm in return.

"Give me this Elena, give me these moments," he pleaded. "Just a few, just once in awhile. Just on the days where I want you back so badly I feel like I'm falling apart."

Elena felt herself giving in. He couldn't understand how much she wanted him here. She was stuck in an eternal dream state, except that usually she knew she was dreaming. She was starring in her own version of "Inception" and it got lonely.

"Just for a little while," she relented. "And you have to promise to go live your life and not come back. . . . for really long time."

Damon smiled. "You never could say no to me."

"You want me to change my mind?"

Damon pretended to get all serious. "Of course not Mrs. Salvatore."

Elena grinned. "Mrs. Salvatore"

"Well I figured that in your little dream here we get married before we have a kid," Damon explained.

"Well then dear husband, would you like to see the rest of the house? I think you'll find the bedrooms particularly interesting." She turned and headed for the stairs and Damon was quick to follow.

"Are you okay here?" Damon asked, gently stroking her hair.

Elena raised her head from his chest, turning to look at him. "Well I'm basically just taking a really long nap."

"That's not really an answer," he replied.

Elena thought for a moment. "It's like a constant series of dreams. I have different dreams, like one day I dream that I'm a trauma surgeon in the ER and another day I dream that we're having dinner at Giovanni's or that Caroline, Bonnie and I are shopping. Sometimes I have the same dream as before, or at least I'm back in a place I dreamt before, like this house. And at the start I don't remember that I'm dreaming, that Kai put me in a coma so it's just like living life. But then there are the times that I do remember."

"You're lonely," he said sadly. "And it's my fault. It's my fault that you're here."

"No," Elena said firmly. "Damon, this is Kai's fault, no one else's. And I'm fine, I really am."

Damon looked unconvinced.

"Seriously Damon. There are lots of good parts. I mean, knowing that I'm dreaming actually gives me control over my dreams." She turned to look at the painting on the wall and willed it into changing into a famous Monet. She looked back towards him and smiled. "See, I have no limits here, no constraints. I can dream of whoever I want, I can create whatever surroundings I want. And I can imagine the wonderful life we're going to have when I wake up.

He wanted to believe her.

"I'm making the best of this Damon," she assured him. "And you need to do the same. That why you need to wake up."

 _Damon wake up!_

Damon furrowed his brow. That sounded like Bonnie, but that didn't make sense.

 _Damon, wake up!_

That was definitely Bonnie. Damon turned to look at Elena but she was gone, and his surroundings had begun to fade away.

 _Damon!_

Damon's eyes snapped open to reveal Bonnie standing above him.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked her gruffly. He felt as if he had been torn from paradise, the happiness he felt with Elena slowly dissipating as he took in his surroundings.

"Looking for you. Figured you would be here," Bonnie replied, taking a seat next to him.

Bonnie grabbed the bottle of bourbon from Damon and took a gulp. "I just raised Jo from the dead."

"So productive day for both of us," Damon told her. "Elena just basically told me to go live my life, after Lily told me that I would lose her if I didn't let go of my need to physically have her close to me, after Stefan told me that I'm putting Elena in more danger than ever because I won't let her rest."

Bonnie tilted her head to look at him. "They're not wrong."

Damon scowled, taking the bottle back from her. "Et tu, Brutus?"

Bonnie gave an exasperated sigh. "Look Damon, I know that I of all people have no right to tell you how to deal with what happened to Elena."

"You got that right," Damon muttered.

Bonnie frowned. "Zip it Salvatore. I'm trying to impart wisdom."

Damon rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut.

Bonnie continued. "I know you miss her. So do I. But what you're doing right now? It's exactly what she didn't want for you."

Damon looked away, not wanting to hear it.

"Letting her go physically doesn't mean you have to stop loving her," Bonnie said softly. "It doesn't mean that you won't be with her one day or that she won't be with you always. But right now, you're frozen in a moment in time. Being with her here, waiting for her to wake up will make the years drag by and it will eat away at you You've done this before Damon, for a much longer time and seemingly with much less misery."

"Actually for the first 45 years, I was pretty miserable." Damon smirked. "Then I met Sage and turned into the Damon you know and love."

Bonnie gave him a smirk right back. "Well maybe this time you cut the misery part short, skip the turning into a dick part and instead work on being the Damon Elena knows and loves."

Damon shook his head. "I don't know who I am without her."

"Well maybe this is your chance to find out," Bonnie replied. "Damon, Elena saw the good in you even when no one else could, including you. She didn't make you good. She just reminded you that you could be. She just believed in you. And I believe that you will do right by her . . . . .mainly because I plan on kicking your ass if you fall out of line."

Damon gave her a small smile. "Maybe you're right."

Bonnie grinned. "Did you just admit that I'm right and you're wrong."

"I said maybe."

"Uh-huh," Bonnie retorted as she got up. "I'll see you at home."

Damon continued to sit on the steps of the mausoleum in silence after Bonnie had faded from view. Then he pulled his phone from his coat and called Tyler Lockwood.


	2. PULLED FROM THE EDGE

PULLED BACK FROM THE EDGE

"When the sun has set, no candle can replace it."

For him a genuine smile rarely made a public appearance, but today was an exception. Today was the happiest day of his life. His heart was so full of joy, he thought it would burst.

She was breathtaking, a goddess in white gliding towards him. She caught his eye and winked, making his smile grow wider. And as she took her place beside him and he took her hands in his, he could see the rest of his life in her eyes.

The familiar scent of her perfume wafted over him, sweet and floral. . . . . . but there was something different.

Damon's brow furrowed in confusion. . . . . . . was that gasoline?

A sudden burst of heat caused him to drop her hands. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw that Elena had been engulfed in flames.

He bolted upright in his bed. For a second he thought it had all been a nightmare. But then reality began to set in and with it, a crushing pain that threatened to consume him. He choked out a sob, his head in his hands.

Hell was not fire and brimstone. It was not the devil with a pitchfork. Hell was waking up and realizing that you would never again hold the woman you had just dreamed of, the woman you had loved. Hell was your future, your dreams, and your hope that you could truly be happy extinguished by one act.

Hell was knowing that it was your fault.

He climbed out of bed. He couldn't be here anymore. He needed to be close to her.

"Bonnie, there's nothing we can do," Stefan told her sadly.

"I need to at least try." Bonnie replied without looking up as she flipped through the Grimoire.

"Bonnie, the other side is gone. There isn't anywhere to bring her back from," he tried to reason.

"I should have been there!" Bonnie shouted, her voice raw with emotion. " If I had helped you with Damon instead of being angry, he would have never had a chance to hurt Elena. This is our fault Stefan, so I have to try something!"

Stefan fell silent. He knew she was right, that they should have stopped this. It was Julian's fault for trapping Damon in the stone but it was their responsibility to take care of Damon afterwards.

Bonnie closed her eyes and read the spell. When nothing happened, she moved on to another. And another. And another. She could feel her pain rising closer to the surface with each failed try. She knew she was on the verge of giving up and breaking down.

Suddenly a bright light filled the room, blinding both her and Stefan. As the light slowly faded, Bonnie squinted, realizing that someone else had appeared in the room. Her eyes widened in shock as the woman turned to face her, revealing her face and an infant clutched to her chest.

All 3 stood there speechless until Stefan broke the silence. "Elena? Is it really you?"

"Yes. Though I'm a little confused about everything else. "

Bonnie leapt forward embracing her best friend. Elena laughed "Careful, I'm holding precious cargo."

"I don't understand. What?. . . How?. . Where?" Stefan stammered.

"Well I'm going to go out on a limb and say you cast a spell," Elena replied.

"Damon told Stefan that he burnt your body while he was hallucinating. I was trying to find a spell to bring you back," Bonnie explained.

Elena shook her head, laughing. "It's 2016."

Stefan looked at her quizzically. "Yeah. Is that supposed to be funny?"

"The spell didn't bring me back from the dead. It brought me from the future." Elena looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "And this is my daughter, Eden."

"She's gorgeous," Bonnie marvelled watching Stefan play with the little girl. "She has Damon's baby blues. And your impossibly long lashes."

"Yeah, we like her a little bit."

"I never thought I'd get the chance to meet your kids, or get a glimpse into what your lives would be like," Bonnie told her, a hint of sorrow in her voice.

Elena reached out and grasped one of her best friend's hands, signalling understanding.

Bonnie broke through her sadness with a laugh. "I really can not imagine Damon as a parent though."

"He's kind of great at it actually. He's even better than I am."

Bonnie's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Wow."

Elena smiled. "Yeah, I know." She grew serious then. " I need to find him. Make sure he's okay."

Stefan walked over, handing the baby back to Elena. "Valerie just messaged. I need to go."

"Go", Bonnie told him. "We'll find Damon."

Stefan hurried out.

Elena turned to Bonnie. "Taking a 1 year old with us into a vampire infested town, looking for her emotionally unstable father who thinks he killed me and doesn't know who she is may not be the best idea."

Bonnie took the child into her arms. "All right. How about you go find Damon and I take advantage of my time with this cutie."

Authors note: Leave a comment and let me know what you think and if you want me to continue because of course I post these stories for you.

Also let me know if you want me to stay in line with the show and have Damon sleep with someone else. Or if you would prefer that I leave out that part.


	3. Saying Goodbye

**SAYING GOODBYE**

As her eyes fluttered open, Elena took in her surroundings, realizing that she was in Damon's bed before her gaze fell on the sight of her best friend, Bonnie Bennett.

"There she is, " Bonnie said softly, her voice raw with emotion.

"Am I?" Elena touched her face in disbelief, not understanding whether this was a dream or reality.

"I did it. I broke the spell," Bonnie explained, still in shock herself.

"How?" Elena questioned.

"It took some time but I think I finally figured the switch thing out." Bonnie laughed embracing the friend she never thought she would see awake again. The two women clung to each other in joy before the events of the past few days began to dawn.

A tear slid down Bonnie's cheek as she pulled away.

"Where is he?" Elena asked soberly.

"He's with Caroline. Saying goodbye".

Damon stared at the plaque, gently running his fingers along the words written at the bottom. _Now at peace_.

He wondered if that was true "Do you think it exists?"

"Peace?" Caroline asked, taking a place beside him.

"Mmm".

"I do," she told him confidently. "We'll see him again."

"You'll see him again," he replied. "Me I'm going the other way. They'll probably reopen hell for me." The words were said almost jokingly but beneath lay his very real fear that he would never see his brother again.

Caroline looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, thinking about how far the man beside her had come since they had first met. She nudged him gently with her shoulder. "Don't be too sure".

Damon smiled, grateful for her kindness. The pain of losing Stefan was still fresh, a weight on his chest making it harder to breath. The only person who could come close to understanding was the woman who stood beside him.

Caroline looked at the plaque before placing her hand and then her head on Damon's shoulder. Damon grasped her hand in return, leaning his head against hers, the two bonded together in grief.

After a moment Caroline gently pulled away, turning to leave. Damon stayed, continuing to stare at his brother's resting place. He closed his eyes, letting his loss wash over him, praying that his brother was okay wherever he was.

Caroline pushed open the doors of the mausoleum, her heart and mind filled with sadness.

As she looked ahead, her eyes widened. In front of her stood Bonnie and Elena.

As Elena smiled at her wordlessly, Caroline raised her hands to her face, letting out a little laugh as she dared to believe that her best friend was really here. She began to move towards her before turning back as she sensed Damon behind her.

Damon couldn't comprehend the scene in front of him as he stepped out into the graveyard. His Elena, awake, here. It couldn't be, could it?

Elena looked at the man she loved, so thankful to see him again after all this time.

Damon allowed himself to accept that she was really here. For the first time in days, Damon felt some happiness spread through him.

The two walked towards each other, a slow first step before rushing into each other's arms. Damon pulled the woman he had so long ached for into a kiss. As they parted lips, they continued to cling to each other, a smile on both their faces at the joy of being re-united.

After a few moments, Elena pulled away. She gently placed a hand on Damon's cheek as she took in the sorrow in his eyes. "I saw him, Stefan. Where I was I saw him for a moment. He's okay."

Damon placed a kiss in her palm, closing his eyes to fight off the tears at her words. Relief washed through him knowing that Stefan was alright. He stepped back from her, allowing Caroline to take his place. "I'll give you guys a minute," he told them, walking away to compose himself.

The 3 women took a seat at a nearby bench, Bonnie and Elena on each side of Caroline, providing support.

"I need you to know, Stefan said something to me before we parted," Elena began. "He told me to tell you that he heard you, and that he will love you forever too."

"He got my message," Caroline whispered.

Elena nodded her head, tears springing to her eyes.

He knew. He had died knowing that she loved him and that she understood what he had to do. Caroline laughed, her voice filled with sorrow.

Elena and Bonnie leaned their heads on her shoulders, giving her as much comfort as they could.

As Damon returned, Ric and Matt steps behind him, the 3 friends stood and made their way over to the pedestal in front of the mausoleum.

One by one, each placed a token on the pedestal, a symbol of their love and gratitude for the man that had saved them all. No words were needed.

Slowly the group began to move away. Caroline held onto Bonnie as Elena took Damon's arm. Ric and Matt trailed behind them solemnly. Each person determined to live their life to the fullest in honour of Stefan Salvatore, a good friend, a loving husband, a devoted brother and a hero to the town of Mystic Falls.

"You won't be sad forever," she told him as they held each other that night, passing on the words that Stefan had told her so long ago.

She knew the pain of losing a younger brother, the last living member of your family. Though she knew that she couldn't fully comprehend Damon's loss.

He and Stefan had been brothers for close to 200 years. They had been through so much. Broken apart and found their way back to each other. And there was the guilt Damon carried knowing that Stefan had made the sacrifice so that he could have a chance at a human life.

She stroked his hair, conveying comfort through her gentle touch. "I know that it feels like the pain will never end. But it will. At first it will feel like you're drowning in it and a part of you will always miss him but it will get easier over time."

Damon gazed into Elena's eyes, the kind eyes of the girl he had fallen for so long ago. "I love you," he told her, hoping that it expressed everything his heartache wouldn't allow him to at the moment: how dearly he had missed her, how grateful he was to have her back and how determined he was to be the man that she and Stefan had wanted him to be. He hoped she knew that she was the light in the darkness his brother's death had cast. He hoped she knew that he intended to keep the promise of the future they had planned on.

He needn't have worried. Elena didn't him to say it for her to know. She remembered the way grief sometimes took away your words along with your smile.

But her words rang true. Day by day, week by week, it got easier. Slowly his smiles became wider, his laughter rang truer, his pain faded and it became easier to breath again.

A year after his brother's death he finally felt that he was truly ready to let him go. He would never forget him, he would never stop wishing that he was still here but he was ready to move on with his life.

As he and Caroline began to walk away after placing the flowers over Stefan's coffin, he turned towards her.

"So, I was hoping you could help me pick out a ring."

 **Notes:**

 **I decided to pick this story up after watching the finale. There were so many moments of the future I wished we had gotten to see and so much that wasn't said, so I decided to sort of fill in the holes.**

 **Next chapter will be the proposal but let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Home**

"Happy one-year anniversary," Elena said in her best Marilyn Monroe voice. She stepped towards the bed and struck a pose.

Damon grinned as he eyed her up and down. "Is that all for me?" he asked.

Elena looked down at herself, wrapped in nothing but, well wrapping paper. Sparkly red wrapping paper to be exact; and a bow of course. "I certainly wouldn't make a fool of myself for anyone else," she told him.

"Well you're the sexiest fool I've ever seen," he replied lasciviously, pulling her closer towards him.

Shivers ran up her spine as he ever so slowly began to unwrap her. He was teasing her, knowing that all she wanted was for him to tear it off her. Well two could play that game. She closed her eyes, beginning to moan softly.

She felt him freeze and knew that her plan had worked. For a minute nothing happened, but she could practically feel his arousal. Elena opened her eyes as the sparkly red paper was ripped from her body, hitting the ground with a crunch.

Damon gazed at her bare body for a moment, marvelling at the beautiful woman in front of him before pulling her into their bed.

Afterwards, they lay entangled together in bliss. Elena listened to the steady beat of Damon's heart as he gently stroked her hair.

"Not that I'm complaining but it's not our anniversary," he told her. It's not the anniversary of the day we first met or our first date, or our first kiss. Or the anniversary of the first time I rocked your world," he added smugly.

"No, but it's been a year since I woke up from my magical nap and we started our human lives together," she explained. "And in the past year we've managed not to break up or die. Neither of us got stuck in a prison world or got put under a sleeping spell or had our memories compelled away. Which is kind of a record for us. I thought that was worth celebrating."

Damon laughed. "Yeah Ric's gonna be pissed. Pretty sure he had money on us breaking up and getting back together at least once in the past year."

"Who knew, huh?"

"I did, " he answered solemnly. "When you were gone, the idea of the human life we planned on having, it was the only thing that got me through on some days. And those moments when I thought I'd never have it, that was when I realized just how badly I wanted it. All of it. And I knew that if we somehow got the chance, we would make it work."

Elena lifted her head, touched by his words. "I love you, you know. More than anything."

"I love you too."

He woke up first, slipping out of bed carefully so as not to wake her. He walked downstairs, past the library where he often spent the mornings reading and the living room where he and Elena lay on the couch in the evenings, sipping wine and discussing their days. The early morning light streamed into the kitchen as he put the coffee on and leaned back against the granite stone counter top.

He had bought the building years ago, when he had first decided to take the cure with her. When she had been under Kai's spell, he continued to work on it, undertaking renovations to turn it into a home.

The ground floor was the bar he owned. Above it was a spacious 2-storey apartment featuring high ceilings, large windows, hardwood floors, 2 fireplaces and a master bathroom that rivalled his bathroom in the Salvatore boarding house. He may have given up his mansion to Caroline but he wasn't ready to completely give up his life of luxury.

Walking to the refrigerator he pulled out the things he needed to make his love breakfast in bed. Once he was done, he placed the pancakes on a tray along with a plate of fruit and the coffee.

He walked up to the second floor, eyes quickly surveying the pictures along the way. Elena had carefully picked, framed and hung each one. One was of the Gilbert family, taken shortly before the tragic accident on Wickery Bridge. Another was of the gang at their high school graduation, eyes full of excitement. Josie and Lizzie beamed at the camera in another. There was even a picture of his mother, a snapshot of one of her rare moments of happiness. The last was the one closest to his heart. It showed him and his brother, laughing at something he couldn't quite remember as they awaited Caroline's walk down the aisle.

The master suite was at the end of the hall. Apart from the room that he shared with Elena, there was a room reserved for Bonnie for whenever she got tired of her world travels and decided to visit. The third room was used by whoever else occasionally dropped by, usually Caroline and the girls or Jeremy on a break from his hunter mission.

Elena stirred at the smell of coffee and her eyes fluttered awake at the soft kiss to her cheek.

"Good morning beautiful," Damon greeted her.

Elena smiled, "Good morning." She sat up, plucking a strawberry from the breakfast tray. "What did I do to deserve all this?"

"One year anniversary, remember? Not that I need a reason."

Her smile widened. "I'm a lucky girl." She grabbed a mug of coffee and took a sip. "So what are your plans for today?"

"I've got to put in some orders, make sure we don't run out of Tequila. Then I'm meeting Caroline for lunch. What time are you finished class?"

"3, and then I've got study group but I will definitely be home for dinner so you should ask Care to stick around if she can. I feel like I haven't seen her in forever," she replied.

"I'll run it by her. But you know you don't have to worry about me, right?" Since they had moved here, Elena had been spending every moment that she wasn't in class at home with him. And though he loved her company, he knew that she was concerned about him being alone and he didn't want her to be.

"I'm not worried," she lied. His expression told her he didn't believe it. "Okay so maybe I worry a little. It's just in Mystic Falls you could go spend time with Ric or Caroline or Bonnie. I don't want you to be lonely and . . . think about sad things."

"I'm alright," he assured her. "Really, I've got ways to occupy my time. I mean you know that I was alive for over 150 years before I met you. And as you recall, I didn't have an abundance of friends."

She searched his face, "Okay, I won't worry. But I'm still going to spend my spare time with you because I want to."

"Okay."

Elena glanced at the clock. "I do have an hour before I have to start getting ready."

Damon smiled. "I'm sure we could come up with a way to pass the time."

 **Note:**

Just a short chapter to provide a glimpse into what Damon and Elena's home life would be like. Hoping to move in to the proposal next and then I've got a bunch of idea for how to continue. Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

"So how's Hogwarts coming along?" Damon asked, taking a sip of his bourbon.

Caroline rolled her eyes at the reference. "Well we hit a bit of a hurdle with recruiting given we couldn't exactly take out an ad in the paper, but turns out Abby Bennett had a little black book of witches that Bonnie was happy to lend us. We reached out to some of them and we were able to recruit a decent few. Now we're just waiting for the last few renovations to be finished. Don't worry though, we kept your room the same for whenever you and Elena come to visit." She smiled at her former brother-in-law. They had gotten a lot closer in the past year since Stefan's death. In fact, she had spent the day helping him look for the perfect engagement ring for Elena. Unfortunately they had yet to find it.

"You mean you haven't turned it into a Snape's potions room yet?" he inquired with mock surprise.

Caroline opened her mouth to respond when a voice behind her made her stop in her tracks.

"Seriously? Harry Potter jokes? You couldn't come up with anything better?"

Caroline and Damon both spun around to see Bonnie standing there, eye brows raised and a smile on her face.

"Bonnie!" Caroline jumped up and embraced her best friend.

Bonnie hugged her back with equal enthusiasm. "I'm happy to see you too Care."

"I thought you were in an ashram in Bali or something," Damon said as Bonnie and Caroline separated.

"I hear that 2 of my best friends are finally getting engaged and you think I wasn't going to come back for that?"

Damon smiled before giving his bestie a hug. "I'm glad you're here."

Bonnie pulled away, smirking. "Seriously though, you need to lock Elena down before she realizes she can do better."

Damon frowned. "You're hilarious. Also, given I haven't even found a ring yet, the celebration might be a bit pre-mature."

"Well then it's a good thing I think of everything." Bonnie reached into her pocket and pulled out a little velvet box, popping it open. Inside was the perfect engagement ring for Elena.

"Is that?" Caroline asked, eyes widening.

"Yup," Bonnie replied as Damon gently took the box.

"It was Miranda Gilbert's engagement ring, passed down through generations of her family. She told Elena that the ring brought luck," Caroline clarified.

"It was in a fire safe box so it didn't perish in the fire. I called Jeremy when Care told me you were going to propose. He agreed that his mom would have wanted Elena to have it," Bonnie added.

"It's perfect," Damon told them, a smile spreading across his face.

The gears immediately began to turn in Caroline's head. "Well then, it looks like we've got a proposal to plan."

Elena had really been looking forward to having her favourite eggplant parm and her favourite Italian restaurant. She had even changed at the hospital so that they wouldn't be late for their reservation. But then Damon had called to tell her that they needed him at the bar and they would just have to order in tonight. She tried to look on the bright side. There were things they could do at home that they couldn't do at a restaurant . . . . without being banned for life the last time they went to Marseille. Who knew the French could be so uptight?

As she approached her door, she noticed a note taped to it. _Meet me on the roof._

She turned to head to the stairs, smiling as she saw the tea lights placed on each step.

When she reached the top she pushed the door open, her eyes alight in wonder.

The usually barren rooftop was covered candles and roses. Soft music filled the air. A table with champagne could be seen to the side. And in the middle was her boyfriend on one knee, dressed in a crisp black suit and looking as handsome as ever.

She approached him, her heart thudding in her chest.

He smiled as she neared him. "I don't think I truly knew what love was until I met you. You have made me happier than anything I have ever known. You helped me become a better man. All the good things in my life I owe to you, in one way or another. And I want to be able to repay you for that, even if it takes the rest of our lives, which I kind of hope it does. Elena Gilbert, will you do me the honour of being my wife?

"Yes." Her heart felt like it was about to burst with happiness as Damon slipped the ring onto her finger.

She laughed, a tear slipping down her cheek. Damon stood, his smile as wide and his joy as fierce, and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"Can we come out yet?!" Caroline's voice rang out with excited enthusiasm.

Elena chuckled, of course Caroline would have had a hand in this. "Yes, come out!"

The door burst open revealing Caroline and Bonnie, followed quickly by, Jeremy, Ric and Matt. The girls were quick to embrace their friend as guys congratulated Damon.

"Good call on tying Elena down before she realizes that you're not good enough for her," Ric added.

Bonnie chortled as she caught his words. "That's exactly what I said."

"And that's exactly why I'm in the market for a new best friend," Damon threw back.

"Seriously though, we've been here with you guys from the beginning and-"

"Wait!, Wait!" Caroline interrupted. If we're doing this then we all need a glass of champagne. She ran over to the table, popping the cork and pouring the bubbly with a generous hand.

When everyone had their glass, they looked to Ric. "Well the gist of what I was saying is that it's about damn time. To Damon and Elena."


End file.
